New York-style loft apartment for sale on Sydney's iconic Finger Wharf for $3.8m

• Owner: Prue Royle
• Address: 517/6 Cowper Wharf Roadway, Woolloomooloo
• Type of property: An art-filled apartment on the historic Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf
• Price guide: $3.8 million
• Auction: 10am, November 25

It was a trip to New York City that planted the seed for Prue Royle’s move to Sydney’s historic Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf in 2011.

The founder of the International School of Colour and Design was leading a group of students on a tour of the city when they visited a new building off 42nd Street.

“It had these lovely loft ceilings, all these lovely pure white walls and fixtures, and gorgeous artworks on the walls and I went, ‘Oh, this is what I want when I retire,’” she recalls.

After selling her business, she was keen to move to the inner city from her home in Waverton on Sydney’s lower north shore and went in search of her own version of the loft. When she found it, she knew instantly.

“When I walked in, I just went ‘Oh my goodness’, because you’ve not only got a lot of light coming in but you also look across the lovely bay to the Royal Botanic Garden and the city … it’s like a mini Manhattan, except there’s more beautiful greenery.”

Although the apartment was in need of a refresh, Royle was eager to put her own stamp on it and was won over by the “extraordinary view” and rich history of the site.

Built in the 1910s, the Finger Wharf was once a key port for Australia’s wool industry exports, a departure site for troops heading off to war and an arrival point for new migrants.

Saved from demolition by public protests in the 1990s, today it features a marina, an Ovolo Hotel, up-scale restaurants, and apartments that have been home to high-profile owners, including Russell Crowe.

“The heritage aspect is beautiful,” says Royle. “There is nothing like it in the world.”

After living in the home for a year, she enlisted a designer friend, Nicola Onslow, to help open up the space and “make it more New York”, creating a large door to the main bedroom, expanding the laundry and kitchen, switching out the flooring for plush charcoal carpet and adding an en suite with a free-standing bath to the main bedroom.

“When you’re in the bath, you can actually look out onto the beautiful view and because it’s high, no one can see in but you can see out,” she says.

Royle’s growing art collection has become a key feature of the space, with paintings from well-known artists like Tim Storrier, Wendy Sharpe, Minnie Pwerle and Jamie Preisz – winner of the 2018 Archibald Packing Room Prize – adding colour to the off-white walls.

Pieces from her extensive travels are also dotted throughout the home: a vase from the Paul Bert Serpette antique market in Paris, blue glasswork from Sweden, a jug from Saint Petersburg and a light sculpture from a physicist-turned-artist she met in Santorini.

While Royle says she can easily spend a whole day inside watching the boats pass by and working on photo books of her trips, the local area offers plenty of options for things to do.

She regularly attends yoga classes at the Juanita Nielsen Community Centre, walks around Mrs Macquaries Point and visits the Art Gallery of NSW, including the new Sydney Modern wing, which she watched being built from her apartment. Cafe L’Expresso House and restaurant China Doll are among her favourite local eateries.

With three bedrooms, a large open-plan living area and a dining table that can seat 16 “at a pinch”, the apartment often hosts gatherings of Royle’s family and friends.

“When I first arrived, I filled it with pink and white balloons and had a huge party,” she says. “There have been a lot of celebrations here, and I’m lucky that I’ve got grandchildren who come and stay.”

Despite being so close to the city, Royle says her home, which sits near the centre of the wharf and faces west, is quiet and peaceful.

“The early mornings are amazing; just as the sun’s coming up, the sunbeams hit the side of the city and all the buildings go a silvery aqua colour, it’s just magic,” she says. “The world is very still at that time.”

With a plan to downsize and move closer to her adult children, she’s recently put her apartment up for sale. While she says she will miss the view and the local community, she feels ready to move on, with hopes of finding a new home by the water or bush.

“I love the idea of somewhere new and fresh and a change in your life. I think it’s a very creative process.”

$3,600,000

517/6 Cowper Wharf Roadway, Woolloomooloo NSW 2011

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